What's all that smoke rising from the Embarcadero? Just TallBoyTee shredding a tire on Pier 32 in front of a crowd of several hundred Bay Area bikers.

While he's known more by his social media handle than his real name, Tyler Heuertz, is a stunt rider pulling wheelies and sliding around the paved flat track in a cloud of acrid smoke on his Harley. Heuertz was one of several stunters on hand to perform at the Roland Sands DesignMoto Bay Classic Saturday in San Francisco — local riders Roger Regan, of San Jose, and Mike Melton, of Fresno, contributed to the mayhem.

Two-wheeled behavior of this variety would normally draw the scrutiny of local traffic cops, but it is totally condoned here. Across the pier, the big attraction was the Gymkhana Cops vs. Hooligans time trial course, which pits motorcycle cops from all over California against pros on both hooligan bikes and those of the "run what you brung" variety.

The Gymkhana motorcycle sport originated in Japan, in which riders run a very tight course at requisite low speeds as quickly as possible. Word in the crowd early on was that Sgt. Eddie Chan of the San Jose Police Department on his Honda ST1300 was the cop to beat in this offshoot event of the SFPD's 2018 International Police Motor Skills Competition.

Ducati was also on site to offer test rides of their popular Scrambler Ducati line. The retro-influenced bikes — outselling the rest of Ducati's models — have become a familiar sight in San Francisco since their re-introduction to the market in 2015.

The line has grown to 11 variations, so we asked Ducati North America CEO Jason Chinnock what he rides to office in Mountain View. Turns out he's a fan of the Multistada, the brand's big touring bike, but takes a Scrambler Ducati Desert Sled to work because, he says, it's easy to split lanes and won't get you into trouble, but can still hang with sportbikes on weekend rides.

Photo: Chris Preovolos

A Scrambler Ducati Desert Sled at Pier 32.

A Scrambler Ducati Desert Sled at Pier 32.

Ducati PR manager Scott Shaffstall chimed in with a vote for the Scrambler 1100 for power, torque and braking ability, though test rides were kept at street-legal speeds despite nearly every motor cop in town being otherwise occupied on the skills course.

Also on hand were Indian, which has a big presence in the Super Hooligan racing series, Husqvarna and Yamaha.

Super Hooligan races, more stunting and awards took over the main track and stage at the end of the day. After the smoke cleared, the Eagles of Death Metal wrapped up the event on stage in the shadow of the Bay Bridge.